Identity Unknown
by tiger002
Summary: “Your orders sir?” The noise awoke me and I saw a soldier standing before me. But, orders? I’m not in the military. At least I don’t think I am. Come to think of it, I don’t know what I am. Not even who I am. What am I doing here?
1. Chapter 1: Army

"Your orders sir?" The noise awoke me and I saw a solider standing before me. But, orders? I'm not in the military. At least I don't think I am. Come to think of it, I don't know what I am. Not even who I am. What am I doing here?

"Sir?" the solder once again asked. I looked up and it was not just him waiting. A large army stood behind him. It had to number at least a thousand. The light of the sun was bright. The sting of it forced me to my knees.

"Are you aright general?" the same solder asked.

"I don't know", I responded. Well apparently, I am a general. The solder helped me back up to my feet.

"You dropped your sword when you fell", the solder said hading me a sharp silver sword. Apparently, I had a sheaf at my side. I put the sword back in it and still had no idea who or where I was.

"Thank you solder", I said trying to look like I knew what I was doing. He could see something was wrong though.

"We need you in good condition for the upcoming battle. Scouts report that the enemy army will be here in less then an hour," he said. This is just great. I have no idea of anything and I'm supposed to lead an army into battle. These solders look up to me and I can't let them down. Maybe something will just come to me. Knowing my luck, it will be just after all of us are killed though.

Motioning for the solder to talk privately with me we went into his tent. "I am not fit to command this battle. You seem to know something of this situation so I want you to lead the army."

"I don't understand sir"

"Neither do I but someone else needs to lead."

"We were told that you would lead us in this battle though and now you give the job to someone else. Why are you doing this?"

"I don't know anything about this. To be honest something must have happened because I have no idea who I am or what is going on here. Everything before you asking me for orders I can't remember."

"Okay, I will lead the troops in this battle. We have to find out what happened to you though", he said trying to calm me down.

"Thank you. One question I have for you though is, what is my name?"

A pale look came over his face. "We were never told that. We were only told that our new general would come and that he would introduce himself." No one here knows my name then. So many questions and so few answers. "I can give you my name at least. Brandon".

A/N: Interesting idea that came to me. This is only the beginning but even I do not know what will happen later on. Thanks for reading and please review.


	2. Chapter 2: Battle

A/N: I think I know where this story is going now and there will be a lot of OC's for the first several chapters but I will begin bringing in some familiar characters.

Chapter 2: Battle

The enemy army was merely minuets away. Brandon knew what he was going on but clearly, he never expected to have to lead such a battle. He gathered his lance and his shield along with his armor. The other soldiers prepared for the coming battle. The army was composed of mostly lance users and swordsmen. We had several archers but the bulk of our army would be close combat fighters. I could hear the sound of horsemen in the distance.

The enemy appeared over the horizon. Their army appeared to be about the size of ours but they had more variety. Portions of their forces were Calvary but the largest portions of the army were infantry. Their numbers looked to be about equal. One of the leading horsemen was also carrying a blue heavily armored knight. The knight carried a massive sword as tall as he was. He dismounted and approached our army easily carrying his massive weapon.

"Their commander," Brandon said to me as we were at the head of our army.

"My name is Cheese, commander of this army. I give you one chance to surrender and leave this place alive," he said holding up his mighty sword demonstrating his strength but accidentally hitting the shoulder of one of his nearby soldiers. "Crap not again!" he exclaimed to himself. What kind of idiotic commander are we facing? Well easier for us anyway.

Brandon gave the order to charge forward and the two armies clashed. I too charged forward hoping to remember how to use a sword. I saw a distracted enemy and made my move. I charged forward and went to slash at him but I lost my grip on the sword and it went flying into the ground nearby. Some memory would really be nice now. I ran to my sword and saw the two commanders squaring off.

Brandon charged with his lance but it was deflected with the large sword. Cheese swiped down at Brandon who could only raise his shield to block the attack. The brute force of the attack sent Brandon down on his back. Cheese once again swiped down but Brandon rolled out of the way. What Cheese lacked in speed and control he made of for in raw power. Brandon rose to his feet and Cheese came at him with a horizontal swipe of his massive sword. Brandon tried to deflect the attack by striking his lance right at the sword but the lance bounced off against Cheese's might strength. The attack went right across Brandon's chest as blood seeped out his armor.

I couldn't stay back and do nothing. I charged at Cheese but my attack merely bounced off his heavy armor. Cheese was distracted by my attack and Brandon stuck his armor head on with his lance. The armor cracked in the spot of the attack but it did not penetrate.

"Enough," Cheese said swinging his mighty sword into the ground sending a shockwave and rocks at us knocking us back. In the moment of being flung back, a part of a memory came to me. As if I had done it a thousand times, I gathered magic power in my hand. I then unleashed it striking Cheese with a bolt of lightning. It wasn't very strong but enough to stun him for a few seconds. And a few seconds was all Brandon needed. He slashed at Cheese with his lance sending the knight up into the air. Brandon the leapt into the air after him and pierced him with his lance. Cheese collided with the ground sending shards of armor everywhere. Cheese rose again but was visible in pain. He looked around and saw his army was being defeated as well.

"Retreat!" he called and a horseman picked him up onto the hoarse. As he retreated, he looked back at us and gave a look of contentment and happiness. What was there to be happy about at a time like this? There wasn't time to worry about that now anyway. Though I didn't know much I knew that there was a war that had to be won.

"Thanks," Brandon said standing beside me, "things would have gone a lot worse if you hadn't helped." He was in pain but his wound would heal soon.

A/N: You may be wondering how exactly fire emblem relates to this. That is a good question and you may find out next chapter.


	3. Chapter 3: March

Chapter 3: March

We had won the battle but I feared at what cost. The tent loomed over me, as I feared the truth I might be faced with, within. I walked in and saw the medic holding a staff trying to cure the wound.

"Will he…" the words struggled to find there way out, "live?"

"Yes", one simple word drove away the pain in my heart. "Another half and inch and that blade would have sliced threw his heart. He was lucky." I can't rely on luck alone next time. I have to learn about the magic powers I possess. I looked down to the hand that harnessed that power and I noticed a mark on my arm. There was no pain from it but I could sense there was something about it that was still hidden from me. The armor covering it must have been blown off during the fight.

"He needs his rest now," the medic said awakening me from my own thoughts, "I will let you know when he wakes up".

"Thanks you," I said leaving the room with both a sense of relief and a new confusion. I looked around camp and saw the cost of are victory. The force that once numbered over a thousand is no less then 500 healthy men. Over two hundred of us died that day. From the conversations around camp, this would be nowhere near the end. Those that weren't focused on the cost of this day were talking about the next battle. The fear gripped them as they wondered if they would be the next to fall. Others covered their fear with desire for revenge.

In this sense, I felt I was connected. This pain felt familiar even if I didn't know how. The desire to fight for what one believes in colliding into the pain of that destination. There are those who take the loss and decide to carry on for their friends who no longer can. The loss pusses them forward. Then those who just can't handle the savagery that war is.

A messenger caught me seeing that I was alone and asked me where the commander was. In name, I was and with Brandon unable to do anything, there was only one choice for me. I took the small step of accepting the role I was thrown into.

"I am," I replied as if I knew something of this.

"The king has ordered all divisions to report the castle at the heart of Telgram. Our spies indicate that the heart of the Bengion army will attack the castle to hopefully break the will of the rebellion. Dukes Crimia and Daien will both send reinforcements to turn the battle in our favor." The messenger reported.

"And how far away is the castle?" I asked.

"Approximately 100 miles to the south-east. You have a week to assemble your men and be there."

I decided to wait until the next dawn to announce these new orders to the soldiers. They deserved at least some time to heal. At daybreak, I announced the orders to the army.

"We have been given the sight of our next battle. We are to march to Telgram castle where we will aid in the defense of it against the Bengion Empire. The messenger informed me that a large amount of Crimia and Daien troupes would be arriving to battle the central army. I confess that I don't know if I am the best person to be leading us but put your trust in me and I shall not let you down." After that little speech, I wondered if I could keep my promise. Even so, we set of for the castle resting often to avoid pushing the wounded too hard. The severely hurt were carried on but oftentimes the ones carrying the load were little better of then the ones that were being carried.

The third day Brandon was able to walk by himself but I could see he was still in pain. He was doing everything he could to avoid slowing us down but it took a great strain on him. I tried several times to help him along but he was determined to do this himself. I stayed near him and hoped that he could answer one of my many questions.

"What is going on with this war?"

"A war for independence. We are fighting to be free from the empire," He replied, obviously proud of this war.

"Is independence really worth all this pain though?"

"I wouldn't be fighting here if it wasn't. I knew when I started fighting in this war the odds are I wouldn't make it back alive but everyday I can fight I can bring my people closer to freedom."

"Of what the messenger told me it looks like this is a much larger war then just our army."

"It's the biggest war that I have ever heard of. The mighty Bengion Empire covers most of the land inhabitable by humans but there were those within Bengion wanted change. The three dukes of the north formed an alliance and rebelled against Bengion. Dukes Crimia, Daien and Telgram proclaimed their territories as independent nations and raised armies to battle the Bengion forces that they knew would be coming. So far, we have been successfully in holding off the Bengion forces but now they have assembled the central army. Its forces are believed to number over 75,000. If we can hold out against that massive army, they will hopefully give up the war. That is why the battle at Telgram castle is so important and why King Crimia sent us to defend the castle."

At least I knew what I was fighting for now. All that mattered now was that the small Crimean army behind me would have to face the largest army the world had seen. These thoughts motivated me as we reached the castle a day ahead of schedule. This would at least give us a good nights rest before the battle; or at least the best we could get considering the circumstances.


	4. Chapter 4: Scouting

A/N: By now, you should know that this tells the story of Crimea and Daien breaking from Bengion and the war that accompanied it. I want to thank you for reading and please review.

Chapter 4: Scouting

I looked around and saw the variety of solders around the castle. Crimia, Daien and Telgam were putting everything they could into the coming battle. The three kings would be leading the battle. King Telgam was a master swordsman and relied on his speed and skill to defeat his enemies. King Crimia was a prominent mounted warrior with great power in both swords and axes. Both he and his horse were covered in golden armor. King Daien took to the skies in battle riding a massive wyvern. Wyverns though somewhat slow possess great power and combined with a skilled rider are a terrifying sight. Next to King Crimia, I saw his wife he was also preparing to fight. Unlike her husband, she rode a pegasus and led a team of pegasus knights into battle. I though that the combination of pegasus and wyvern solders might give us an advantage in the battle until I heard that they were merely being used to counter Bengion's much larger forces.

As I was observing preparations, King Crimia motioned me to come over to him.

"The battle tomorrow will be fierce. We need any advantage we can get so I want you to go out and discover the enemy's battle plan. Take several of your men with you but avoid battle at any cost. Any information you gather will be useless if they capture or kill you," he explained to me. I thought about refusing his orders and explaining my situation to him but I thought better then to disagree with a king.

Late that evening, we set out in stolen armor. Accompanying me were two swordsman, Daniel and David, and Andy, an archer. We wanted to avoid battle and know that four against thousands would be catastrophic we still took our weapons in case they were needed. I had also practiced my lightning magic and could use it if necessary. As we approached the Bengion camp, we hid behind some tents where we overheard a general address his men.

"At tomorrow's march we split our forces. Our force shall be approximately a fifth of our men and shall hold the rebels at Telgam castle. The rest of the army shall split off with half going to castle Crimia and the other to castle Daien. They have sent everything to castle Telgam giving us the perfect opportunity to crush Crimia and Daien and then if necessary to overwhelm what forces may survive in Telgam."

This is the most important information I had ever heard and I just had to get it back as soon as possible. There was no way we could win the war if their plan succeeded. As we ran as quietly and as swiftly away from their camp, an arrow flew right beside me. The arrow struck Daniel right in the heart and his body fell to the ground. If we stayed to fight, we would die for sure. "Split up and head back to the castle," I said knowing it was our best chance to succeed. Seconds after we split I heard more arrows fly and Andy's cry of pain as life left his body. I continued on knowing that what ever it took one of us had to get back. David saw that both of us would soon be caught so he decided to buy me some time. He called and taunted the Bengion soldiers and that drew their attention. I ran knowing that is was now up to me and I couldn't waste the sacrifice of my men. I could hear steal clashing and another death.

A quarter of a mile away from the camp I found some bushes to hide in. I hoped I would be safe and that they would believe that was all of us. I was wrong however and saw about a dozen solders approach the bush. If I ran, they would see and kill me. If I stayed, they would find and kill me. If I tried to fight, they would kill me. What way is there for me to survive?

They were coming closer obviously following my footprints. I saw an archer getting ready to fire an arrow. Only one option. I built up magic in my hand and right before he was going to fire the arrow I struck him with a bolt of lightning. A swordsman ran up to me, and I tried to block the attack but the power of the attack struck my sword and sent it out of my hand. No time for another spell, so I dove to the ground hoping the grab my sword and defend myself. It is foolish though for me to think someone who knows nothing about swordsmanship could defeat ten trained enemies. I stayed on the ground waiting for the final blow.

Unlike the blow I was expecting, a stream of wind came and blew the swordsman away. I looked up and saw two new figures that joined in the battle. The darkness made details hard to see but the one was a skilled swordsman and blazed through the enemies swiftly cutting them down. The other one stayed farther back and was directing wind attacks to aid his comrade. The two quickly dispatched the ten and the one came to approach me.

"We have finally found you," the swordsman said helping me back onto my feet.

"Who are you?" I asked wondering where they had come from.

"We don't have time to talk," the mage said.

"He's right," I said, "I am grateful for your help but I need to get back to the castle."

"We better go with you then. We will explain who we are later but for now I am Stefan and this is Soren." The swordsman said.

A/N: I hope that this chapter raised several questions and those will be answered in later chapters so keep reading


	5. Chapter 5: Sacrifice

AN: Thanks for reading and please review to tell me if you like it, hate it, or whatever.

Chapter 5: Sacrifice

We made our way back to the castle in the middle of the night. This information could let us win the war and without it, all hope was gone. After making it to the light in the pitch-black darkness, I called a meeting of the leaders of the war and prepared to announce the news. Once all the commanders and kings were assembled, I began.

"Generals and kings I bring to you dire news. Bengion has manipulated our plans and is preparing not just to defeat us but also to destroy our nations. Their plan is to send a fraction of their army to fight us, and the rest to conquer Crimia and Daien. Once they are gone, Telgam will also fall. We must adjust our plans now or all is lost." My announcement caused panic and confusion in our ranks. Several ideas were suggested. We could just go and attack the central army that was heading north but we would lose the advantage of the castle and the other part of the army could surround us. Some thought that we should stand our ground here, but then we would lose our nations and even if we won the war what victory would that be?

King Telgam rose with an idea of his own, "Bengion has already achieved an advantage and no matter what we do we can not take that back. However if we can defeat the central army in battle we can break their will. The bulk of my forces along with kings Crimia and Daien will fight the advancing part of the central army. I along with the rest of my men will stay here to hold off the assault."

"Your plan is madness," King Crimia replied, "would you so willingly throw away your life?"

"Sadly we have no other choice," King Daien said.

"While I don't want to have to do this it is the only way for us to win. We cannot expect others to sacrifice for freedom while we do not do the same. This is our last opportunity to win the war so we cannot let cowardice and weakness stop us. This plan may be crazy but I for one won't go down without a fight." He won the support of the other leaders and we could only hope our desperate plan would work. The armies then began to leave the castle and to enter the fight of their lives.

I too made my way back to the barracks when I ran into Stefan and Soren.

"We cannot allow you to go to that battle," Stefan said.

"And why not?" I replied both curious and put off.

"You will die." Stefan said in a sad tone.

I was done with the puzzles. They knew something and it was time I learned it. "Tell me, what is going on here?"

"This will be a long story but to put it simply you don't belong here, and you must come with us," Stefan said.

"I'm going to need more then that".

"Allow me to explain," Soren said, "We, all three of us, are from about 300 years in the future. A battle against the Bengion general, Jonathan sent you back in time and must have wiped out your memory." I wondered about his story but very few knew about my lack of memory so I let him continue. "Jonathan used magic like we had never seen but during your battle we were not their. Stefan and I led the forces against the Bengion army while you faced him one on one. You said you had found away to give yourself enough power to defeat him. When we got to the room where the battle was taking place, there was no sign of either of you. A few days later, we found him, and apparently, your battle drained him of nearly all of his magic and without his power, he quickly surrendered and told us his plan. He couldn't defeat you so he was able to combine your thunder magic with his dark magic to send you to a different time. He sent you to the week before the bloodiest day in history would occur hoping you will die then like so many others. He crafted a time gem alloying us to come and bring you back in exchange for his life."

I could feel I didn't belong here but I couldn't just leave this army. My only memories were of them and I wouldn't abandon them.

"No," I said assertively, "I am the general of this army and this is where I stay."

"This is not where you belong though and you know it," Stefan said.

"Maybe," I said uncertain of what I should do, "If you are from the future then tell me what happens after this battle".

"Bengion wins this battle and eradicates nearly the entire army. However, Bengion takes such great losses as well that they decide to end the war. They see that the courage displayed by the alliance causes more soldiers to join and Bengion decides to give up the war." Stefan said.

"Then give me one more fight. And if you need me so badly for your war then I guess you can't let me die here," I said.

"As stubborn as ever I see. Agreed then, besides there is something else I need to take care of here," Stefan said.

As we continued preparations, that night I saw Stefan go up to King Telgam.

"Lord Telgam, I would like to request a duel with you," Stefan said.

"Why do you wish to duel me?" King Telgam said obviously confounded by the request.

"This is my only chance to test my skills against possibly the greatest sword master in the world. I want to see if my skills can compare with yours."

AN: Thanks for reading and please review. This is only the beginning and I have many ideas for this story.


	6. Chapter 6: Fear

Chapter 6: Fear

"Very well I shall accept this duel", Lord Telgam said, "Show me your dance of the blade." The two swordsmen both used wooden blades to avoid any serious injuries but both of them were not going to hold back.

The king started the match by charging at Stefan with great speed that could hardly be followed by the human eye. King Telgam slashed down at Stefan but the attacked was blocked with equally great speed. Stefan ran around Lord Telgam hoping an attack from the rear would work but the king turned and swatted the attack as if he had done it a thousand times. Stefan would not be deterred however and followed with a volley of strokes with each one being blocked. Lord Telgam turned the battle around by knocking Stefan's sword toward the ground after the last slash and took the opening to charge at his chest. Stefan however rolled to the ground to evade the attack at the last second. The two combatants once again stood a distance from one another.

"Your fighting stance is familiar", Lord Telgam thought aloud.

"How so your majesty?" Stefan replied.

"My son, I can see some of his style in your swordsmanship."

"Enough talk, we came here to fight", Stefan said as the battle continued.

This time Stefan was the first to charge. His first attack aimed up at the opponent's sword. He then struck the kings chest in the blink of an eye. Stefan thought that the battle would be his but the king had other plans. Stefan created an opening at the cost of his own safety at the king stuck Stefan in his back sending him colliding with the ground. Stefan was unable to get back up from that blow.

"Don't get so focused on defeating your opponent you let your opponent defeat you", King Telgam said helping the loser back to his feet. Stefan's wounds were not severe but his was disappointed at his performance in the battle.

I continued on preparing to flee the castle when I ran into Brandon gathering his armor and his weapons.

"Are you ready?" I asked him.

"It doesn't matter. We are facing unbeatable odds up ahead."

"You're scared?"

"Isn't everyone? We are soldiers though and that's what we fight through. The uncertainty of life after today."

"I guess so. I saw the battle and I could see how the loss drained our men. The horror of it all. They say we fight for glory and honor but that isn't the case."

"You're right. The shallow hopes of glory won't get you through the loss of a best friend. The only ones that can keep going are those who truly know what we are fighting for. We have decided that lives of freedom for our countrymen are worth risking everything", Brandon said.

"And though I just found myself put here I can not just abandon you. Together is the only hope we have of winning the battle."

"I still don't know if victory is possible but with my friends beside me and my lance at my side I will make this life count for something." His last words stood ringing in my ear. I don't know what I'm doing here but if I can save just one life, it will be worth it. I don't know if I will live or die but there is something I can do so I shall do it.

I had finished gathering my supplies and I was about ready to set out, when I overheard Stefan and King Telgam talking.

"So the odds are you will never see your son again", I heard Stefan say.

"Yea, that fearsome battle in the desert I fear ended his life. And now my life probably going to end soon", King Telgam said.

"It has to be hard on him to. A fifteen year old losing his dad like that."

I decided to leave them be for now. We would be focused on the war soon enough.

I found my horse and prepared him when I noticed Soren beside me.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked.

"I can't just leave them like this."

"Stay near us then. We can't risk losing you."

"I will, it will be helpful having 2 strong fighters with me." The sun had just begun to rise as we set off. Hardly a word was said along the way as a felling of fear and despair gripped the camp. The sun was following us through out the day as if it was pointed us to our final destination. At night, we made camp and prepared to strike early the next morning.

The night characterized our fear. Inability to see beyond ourselves and fear of what was just beyond sight. These thoughts occupied me as I was at the edge of the camp. I heard something, a faint sound coming from the bushes. I grabbed my sword and waited for the sound again. There it was. At its sound, I swung my sword behind me only to hear it clash with metal. I gathered lighting in my hand to battle this foe. The lightning illuminated the figure reveling his blue armor. It was none other then general Cheese of Bengion.

"I'm not here to fight", he said to me.

"Then what are you doing here?"

"To help you."

"Why should I believe you?"

"The central army knows nothing of your escape. I could destroy any hope of your plan working should I decide to."

"You didn't come here to make threats though."

"No, I came to tell you how to defeat the army. I have decided to go against the empire. I now lead an army of about 500 men who will help you in this coming battle. Our plan is the attack the central army to catch them off guard. While they attempt to fight us off that's when your army hits them from the other side. The chaos of the attack will throw them off enough to give us a chance to win. I and my men will likely perish but it is the only way to win."

"I still think this might be a trick."

"Trust me or not, the choice is yours. However if you wish to win this war you need my help", he said as he once again disappeared into the shadows.

We adjusted our tactics to go along with this new information. Early the next morning would be a turning point in history. We would win and our countries would be free, or we would lose and we would forever be slaves the Bengion.

AN: Thanks for reading and review.


	7. Chapter 7: Death

Chapter 7: Death

Once again, we rose before the dawn. The Bengion army was just beyond this bridge. When the time came, we would charge and hit them hard and fast. We were just waiting for the signal. I saw the flare light up the early morning sky. With that the charge was started.

King Crimia led the charge with the horsemen behind him and King Daien took to the sky with his wyvern army. As we approached them, I could see a battle at the other side of the camp. This appeared to be the army Cheese led distracting them.

At first the charge worked. The enemy was in a state of shambles and was being cut down by our advance. One enemy right after another was falling. The unity of the central army had fallen in the massive camp. Their numbers were broken and those in the way of our forces were cut down. I stayed toward the rear of the attack and aided from afar with my magic. I saw small force of archers attempt to counter the main force. Between my lightning and Soren's wind, they were decimated.

The enemy general saw they had lost the advantage so he ordered his men to retreat from the camp. They had taken far greater losses then us during that exchange but we were still outnumbered over two to one and the central army had regrouped and was ready to fight. King Crimia ordered a charge of the unified army. They were ready this time however. Horsemen on both sides met and many fell. The rest of us charged behind the main force once again but the shier number of the enemy prevented a further advance. While focusing on attacking the front line I missed a horseman nearly slicing me with his sword. He was cut down right before reaching me by Stefan's blade. I looked and saw Stefan surrounded by a dozen dead Bengion knights. Further, in the distance I saw Brandon leading some of our foot soldiers that were defending against a Bengion flank. For a second I thought that we would win.

The next thing I knew I saw Stefan falling to the ground with an arrow through his stomach. Soren who was standing beside me most of the fight turned at me horrified by the sight.

"I can heal him", Soren said to me, "however I will need you to cover for me when I do."

"I understand", I replied to him. We rushed over to Stefan and he was still alive. Soren pulled out a staff and held it over Stefan's wound. Three enemy horsemen saw the opening and charged at us. I struck one of them with a lightning bolt, but the other two kept coming. I jumped back to dodge the sword of the one and blocked the other with my blade. I conjured up all the power I could and called forth multiple lightning strikes around the two. Once they were dead, more came and they came at me with their lances. As I prepared to face them, a gust of wind knocked them to the ground. I followed the attack striking them with several lightning bolts. I then turned to see Stefan take down another solider who had gotten behind us. Even as we took down many Bengion enemies more continued to come. Our lines were weakening all around us with courageous soldiers falling around us.

Our weakened army stood together and our line blocked of the enemy advance. At its helm stood King Crimia, who continued to slay foes with his lance. The paladins and knights stood at the front of the line while archers and range combatants stood toward the rear with me. I looked toward the side and saw Brandon and Cheese standing together holding of the advance. With great skill, power, and armor, it looked as if nothing could penetrate us. However even as our line held of the advance we were falling. The general of the Bengion army set his sites on King Crimia. He rode up on his hoarse and thrusted his lance at the king. King Crimia blocked the attack though and counted with his own lance. The general pulled out an axe and swatted the attack then thrusted his lance through the kings arm. He dropped his lance to the ground. Before the general could finish the king, a wyvern rider swooped down and sliced through the general.

King Daien was riding the wyvern and he was carrying some other women with him. Sadly, I had little time to think about the situation as our lines collapsed. Our men were dieing are around me and there was nothing that could stop the Bengions now. The kings saw this and ordered a retreat. I saw Brandon and Cheese riding stolen horses coming toward us. Stefan, Soren, and I jumped on and the five of us rode away from the battle attempting to stay with the remaining soldiers in the middle of the chaos. It was clear now that we had lost. The alliance army broke apart with parts scattering of everywhere. The dead were piled high where the battle had taken place.

The five of us made camp together and planned to meet up with the rest of the army once everything settled down. We would reform and decide what our next move would be, or so I assumed.

"It's time for us to return", Stefan said.

"But we still have to finish the war", I protested.

"This was the last battle of the war. You have no more reason to stay here", Stefan said.

"So we lost the war?" I asked.

"Crimia and Daien will be independent nations. Even though we lost the battle, Bengion will decide to cost for victory will be too much", Soren said.

"Over half the Bengion army died today. Not to mention the deaths in seizing castle Telgam."

"I see, let's go then", I answered.

"I'm going with you", Cheese said, "after abandoning my nation there is nowhere for me to go now. I decided to give my life to make a difference and that job is still not done."

"Take me as well. I lost everything I had in this war. My life was dedicated to carrying on for the purpose so many died for", Brandon added.

Soren replied, "Absolutely not".

"We need as much help as possible back at home", Stefan, replied, "after all we know that they can handle themselves in a fight."

"Very well", Soren reluctantly agreed.

"Before we go", I added "please tell me, what is my name?"

"We can't waste anymore time. Let's go Ash", Stefan said as the area around me became pitch black.

AN: Thank you for reading as this concludes the first part of the story. More will come but I wanted to get here before school starts back so updating may be slower.


	8. Chapter 8: Beasts of the field

Chapter 8: Beasts of the field

AN: This chapter follows the characters back to the original time of the story. I will explain in detail the events after radiant dawn that lead up to these events soon but for now, the story is told from Ash's perspective. Thanks for reading and please review.

The bring light surrounded us as we traveled through time. The blinding light seemed to have no end to it. I could barley make out the four figures that surrounded us. I was still consumed with the mystery of where I was going and who I was. I was no longer alone though. Moreover, I knew my name.

The light subdued and I felt my hands and knees covered with a grainy feel. There was still a bright light but it was different but I could feel its energy beating down on me. I looked and saw that I was on my knees in sand and switching my gaze farther up I saw that this vast desert had no end in sight. I then looked up and saw the scorching sun in the sky.

"Come on Ash. It's dangerous for us to be out here", I heard Stefan say. As I rose, I saw that the rest of us were still together and I rose and followed them. Stefan and Soren led us and mystery filled the thoughts of the rest of us. Stefan was always glancing around the horizon as if searching for something, something that filled him with dread.

We continued like this for some time. Probably about an hour judging by the movement of the sun.

"Draw your weapons," Stefan said in a quiet tone as he drew his sword from its sheaf. Brandon readied his lance and Cheese did his sword. I saw five men approach us. They appeared very muscular but unarmed. As they got closer, I noticed a very weird characteristic. They all had tails. They came toward us, Stefan readied to fight them, and the rest of us followed his lead.

"We have found you at last. Now prepare to die abominations," one of the men said. After this, a light came and surrounded them. They switched from walking on their feet to both hands and feet. After the light left, the transformation was seen. They were tigers now.

One of the tigers leapt at Stefan with both claws and fangs. Stefan jumped back to dodge the teeth and used his blade to block the claws. Stefan ran to the side of the tiger and sliced his sword at them but the tiger's claw deflected the attack. The tiger once again jumped at Stefan and appeared to be landing on top of him but Stefan rolled forward to block the attack. Stefan saw an opportunity, lunged at the tiger, and pierced his abdomen. Blood came from the wound and the tiger spun around hitting Stefan's sword hand knocking the blade to the ground. Stefan jumped back before the tiger could rip through him but the battle seemed hopeless. Stefan's speed could not hold out against the tiger's power for long.

The other four tigers circled around and we were surrounded. Cheese and Brandon attempted to keep Soren and me in-between them to better protect us. Cheese attempted to strike a tiger with his heavy sword but the slash was too slow and the tiger jumped back. The tiger then leapt at Cheese and throw him to the ground with a terrible collision of steel and claw. I could see the slashes in his armor but it appeared to be intact still.

Brandon deflected the tiger's claws with his shield and then thruster his lance toward the beast but his claws blocked the attack. The tiger jumped at Brandon but the shield once again took the attack. The beast threw its entire weight into the attack almost making Brandon fall backwards. While Brandon held his ground, the tiger used the attack to get behind him. The tiger jumped at him once more and struck his shoulder and shards of crimson stained armor fell to the ground.

The remaining two tigers charged at us knowing that we would be easy pray for them. Soren used his magic to knock them back but the attack barley fazed them. It would take more then simple wind magic to defeat these brutes. They once again charged at us but this time evaded Soren's spell. We barley dodged their fearsome attacks. The one went after me again but I called a wall of lightning to surround me. The lightning stunned the tiger long enough for Soren to make his move. Soren switched from wind to fire spells and set the tiger aflame. The other tiger then jumped at me but I gathered the lightning around me into my hands and blasted it at the tiger. He fell to the ground and Soren finished him with his flames.

Stefan was trying just to survive against the tiger. He had hoped to get back to his sword but the tiger kept him at bay adding to his scratches. Stefan tried to run around the tiger and get back to his sword but the tiger just jumped at him slashing his arm. I surprised the tiger by striking him with a lightning bolt and Soren sent a fireball at the tiger as well. The tiger recovered from the lightning in time to dodge the fire. I then throw my blade to Stefan who caught it using his unwounded left hand. I tried to hit the tiger with another lightning bolt but the tiger stepped back before the attack could connect. It did however distract the tiger long enough for Stefan to slash the tiger's side. When the tiger went to counter Stefan's swipe he was finished by Soren's flame.

Cheese picked up his sword and stabbed the tiger getting it off him before the attacks could pierce his armor. The tiger jumped back at him but Cheese counted with a spinning slashing attack that wounded the tiger and blocked the attack. The wounded tiger was an easy target for Cheese's finishing slash.

Brandon attempted to stab the tiger again but his wound prevented the attack from working. The tiger leapt at Brandon and knocked his shield to the ground with his claws. The tiger then jumped at him and tore a piece out of his armor and stomach and Brandon fell to the ground in pain. The tiger was then stuck by both fire and lightning. Brandon got up and stabbed his lance through the tiger to finish the fight. Before the tiger died, however he let loose a mighty roar.

"This is even worse," Stefan said," reinforcements are coming".

"What do we do then?" I asked "We barley escaped those."

"I'll hold them off here. They can move faster then we can in this desert. Soren, take Ash Brandon and Cheese back to our base and see if Micaiah can restore Ash's memory."

"I will stay here with you," Cheese said, "My armor can defend against them and you stand no chance against them alone."

"Then that is the plan," Stefan said.

We healed ourselves with vulnerary before we split up. I just hoped that Cheese and Stefan weren't getting in over their heads. My mind also switched to curiosity. Who was this Micaiah and could she restore my memory?

A/N: Sorry for the long wait for this chapter and I won't promise the time for the next one either. This chapter should give you a picture of the growing conflict and many questions will be answered soon.


	9. Chapter 9: Ignition

Chapter 9: Ignition

I could hear the distance roars as we ran from the scene of our last battle. While I hated abandoning them, it seemed our only choice. We could stay, fight and probably all die, and then everything would be lost. On the other hand, we could guarantee at least some of our success and hope the others would make it back safely.

Even in this endless desert, Soren knew just where we were. Was it because he had been here so long and had memorized the location of all the shifting sand dunes? Perhaps he could tell by the path of the sun. Whatever the case he led us through the sand. Eventually we came to what appeared to be a large structure.

"You've finally made it back," a man in red robes said to us as he ran back into the structure.

"Who was that?" Brandon asked turning to Soren.

"His name is Tormad. He is our best fire sage and a master of getting through this desert."

As quickly has he entered what appeared to be the fortress he came back out again, this time a maiden following him. She was covered in white and has beautiful silver hair. She appeared relatively young, probably about 25.

"Oh Ash," she said running toward me. She grabbed onto me and rested her head on my shoulder. I could see the tears of joy rolling down her cheek. Even though I didn't remember her, I could feel a bond between us.

"I'm glad to see you again too", I said pushing her away, "I'm sorry it's just I don't remember you."

"I see", she said backing from me.

"Micaiah, could sacrifice possibly cure him?" Soren asked.

"It couldn't hurt anything", Micaiah answered. As she said that, she built up a light in her hand. As she pressed her hand against my chest, I could feel a wave of memories returning to me. Memories of pain, of sadness but also of friendship. Memories of hatred, of anger, of loss, and even of death. I understood what happened and what I was truly fighting for. Even so the clouds of memory remained. Something or someone didn't want me to remember everything.

Ten years after the defeat of the goddess Ashera peace seemed eternal. The laguz nations and the beroc nations appeared to be getting along in peace. In Daien, the people rejoiced at the seventh birthday of the royal prince Edward, named after the dear friend of the queen who died fighting for newly reformed nation. King Sothe watched over the festivities with his wife beside him. The perfect picture of what Daien fought so hard to achieve.

The party took place in the streets of Daien as the Queen and King wanted to connect to the people they strove so hard to serve. During one of the many party games the sleeve of Edwards's shirt was torn. Beneath it, a strange mark was reviled.

"What is that mark?" one of the other kids asked.

"I don't know. It's just always been there," little Edward said.

"I'll tell you what that mark is," a village elder replied, "that mark shows that you have blood of those filthy sub humans in you.

"You mean those beast men?" a child asked.

"Yea. I knew there was something queer about the queen and this shows it. She possesses the blood of the cursed beasts. All of her supposed miracles are nothing more then the curse's power."

"So what if she is one of the branded?" Sothe said jumping in front of the old man. She is the savoir of not only Daien but of the world. Only a fool would look past all of her good work. Let's go Edward," Sothe said as he and his son headed back to the castle.

Later that evening Micaiah went to the terrace overlooking the city. She reviled to the city her brand. "I have nothing to hide from my people. I am one of the branded. My ancestor was a heron and as such, I have the blood of the laguz in my veins. In addition, I am not the only one. Empress Saniki of Bengion also possesses this same blood and is my younger sister. I will not hide in fear anymore. I know that this won't matter to you after seeing the good that we have done for this nation."

The night was calm and the royal family slept soundly. A few guards patrolled the castle to insure its safety. In the middle of the night, windows shattered in near the king and queen's room. Guards rushed to the scene to discover the window but in the darkness of the night, they could see very little. The darkness concealed the slash of swordsman cutting down the guards. The intruders made their way to the royal chambers and kicked down the door. They could see the faint outline of the queen in the darkness but as they moved into the room, the leader was stabbed and kicked back against the wall.

"Micaiah, light the torch," Sothe said and the room filled with light. The brightness reviled six swordsmen including the one that had been kicked into the wall. They were all wearing masks. One charged at Sothe but he grabbed his arm and tossed him into a table.

"Those who assault the queen will die," Sothe said drawing his dagger and going after the other assassins. After he had sliced through those six, a much larger crowd was breaking into the castle. The king and Queen looked out and saw the horror of battle. Many were making their way into the castle running through the guards. Another group came trying to defend the castle. Another civil war, thoughts of this filled the queen's mind. Through the sound of clashing steel it showed that, the rebel's would make it into the castle.

"They are coming too quickly," Sothe said to his wife, "Go to the secret exit and make it out of this chaos. Make it to Bengion and speak to Saniki. There appears little hope that this will subside quickly. Come here Ash," Sothe said to a nearby guard, "go with her and protect her with your life." With those words, Sothe ran off to hold of the invaders hoping to buy the queen enough time to escape.

Micaiah and Ash made their way out of into the city by way of the passage. Flames were raging across the city.

"No, no, not Navasa," Micaiah said dropping to her knees with tears flowing from her eyes.

"We have no choice," Ash said resting a hand on her shoulder, "We have to keep going".

Micaiah looked up at him and rose. She saw the logic break through her emotion.

"My city, I will return to you," she said as she and Ash walked from the flaming city.

A/N: Thank you for your continued reading and please review… Many questions were answered here I hope but I also hope that more are arising. I apologize for the long time between updates and it may be a month or more until the next chapter is up.


	10. Chapter 10: The Raging Flames

Chap 10: The Raging flames

A/N: This continues the memories of Ash that led up to the meeting in the desert.

"Queen Micaiah I don't know how we can undo what has been done", Empress Saniki said to her sister. "Already mobs are forming in the streets demanding my death."

"I'm sorry I thought that they would accept us as we were. There are a few who still hate what they do not understand but I never thought the mobs would be this large."

"The fear and the hatred of the masses are a powerful thing. Already they have stolen my Sothe and my son", Micaiah could feel the tears welling up inside her again.

"A fever grips the nations again. One that when gone will leave this world much different then before and this fever won't leave without pain", Saniki said.

A messenger rushed into the grand palace with great surprise on his face.

"My lady, King Skrmir of Gallia has declared that Queen's Micaiah and Saniki must be killed at once and he is willing to use the armies of Gallia to see it out! Gallia has declared war on us.

"What!? How could this be, after all we had been through! We united to defeat Ashera, and now he wants to kill us?" Saniki yelled

"Sadly the laguz have a long lasting hatred of the branded even more then the beroc. Their hatred must have overcome their memories," Micaiah said.

___

When the people of Crimia and Daien heard of this many of them joined in this hunt. Queen Elincia of Crimia attempted to quell the hatred for her friends but the voice of the masses could not be oppressed. Elincia feared deploying her army knowing that the mobs would kill many. Elincia saw no other option but to declare neutrality to avoid the bloodshed in a civil war. Sadly, Micaiah and Saniki did not have that option. Mobs frequently clashed with the Bengion army causing great losses for each. The queens stood in horror at the bloodshed. For a year, after the war started the bird tribes and Goldoa remained neutral along with Crimia. The Daien army that remained loyal to Micaiah moved to the Bengion capital to protect their queen. The mobs took over Daien without any central authority. Elincia did everything she could to prevent the Crimia citizens from joining the Daien and Bengion mobs but even with her efforts a number of Criminas joined the war. For another year battles raged on in Bengion. The well-trained central army was able to defeat the rebels at first but the war began to take a toll on the army.

At the end of the second year of the war, the rebels unified and began to defeat the Bengion army. The army retreated into the capital. One of the largest battles in history would take place. The well trained Bengion central army and the remnants of Daien on one side. Moreover, a massive army of untrained warriors on the other. Days before the siege began Goldoa and Phoenicis decided to become involved in the war. The dragons of Goldoa sided with the mobs in the belief that the branded must be destroyed. Tibarn and the bird tribes came to the aid of Bengion remembering the kindness that had been shown in the past decade.

____

"What hope do we have?" Micaiah asked looking out at the army preparing to take on the rebel army, "If we lose its over and even if we win so many will die."

"We must fight", Ash said facing her, "We are fighting for those who need protection most. While war is the most horrendous thing to occur it can lead to great change and I believe that this is one of those wars."

"And we will win too", Tibarn said flying into the palace room.

"Tibarn you made it!" Micaiah said.

"Of course, I won't let you down. Sorry for taking so long but the birds and I will fight these mobs."

Just then, a massive army began to attack the capital's walls. Tibarn led his army out to join the imperial army. When he got there, he saw the combined army of the mobs and Gallia. Joining them were the dragons of Goldoa. Bengion archers stood at the top of the city walls and fired arrows at the advancing army Goldoa dragons launched their fire at the walls destroying them. The imperial army held their ground within the city for a time but the massive amounts of laguz and beroc pushing through the army quickly tore through the Bengions.

"Micaiah the enemy is approaching the castle", Ash said.

"It's truly over isn't it?"

"No my queen, we can get out of here."

"I can't just abandon this army trying to save me".

"What good does it do for you to die? The enemy is approaching the palace and there is little hope for them to be stopped."

"What about Saniki?"

"There isn't any time. If we delay any longer then they will kill all of us."

"I see, let us go then", she said with sorrow in her voice.

Micaiah and Ash left the castle through a secret doorway in the back. As they attempted to secretly leave the city, they saw Saniki approaching the oncoming army.

"Stop, leave my people alone. I'm tired of all this senseless bloodshed", Saniki said to the enemy army. The army halted their advance for a moment. Just then, an ebon blast struck Saniki.

"She is right," the black dragon king said to the army, "There is no point for true beroc to fight one another. Our real goal is the extermination of the branded."

"Kurth!" Micaiah said starting to run toward the dragon king.

"No Micaiah, we have to get out of here", Ash said holding Micaiah back. Micaiah and Ash left the town attempting to avoid detection. They disguised themselves the peasant clothing to avoid suspicion and fled the capital.

Both Bengion and Daien had fallen to the hatred of the branded. Micaiah and Ash went around the country trying to avoid the army that continued to search for the queen. They became quite skilled at avoiding the assassins and when necessary they defended themselves with Micaiah's light magic and Ash's lightning magic disposed of any that could find them. The combination of Bengion and Daien's former land combined into a new nation but was loosely unified under the hunting of the branded. Over the next few years, Micaiah and Ash did everything they could, just to avoid the enemy's pursuits. Eventually their journeys took them into the desert.

"It's so hot here", Micaiah said turning to Ash.

"Yea, let's find shelter soon. If we get out of this heat we will be fine", he said trying to comfort her.

"Who goes there?" a voice spoke.

"I recognize that voice but I can't remember who it is", Micaiah said quietly to Ash.

"But I remember you and the first time you traveled into my desert" the voice responded, "and I see that your companion is also one of us."

"Stefan", Micaiah said with doubt in her voice.

"Yes", he said as he approached them though the blowing sands. "Come with me", he said to them as he guided them though the shifting sands.

"You live here?" Ash asked.

"Yes, my people and I have a safe place of refuge here. Even with all the armies after us they have not been able to penetrate the sands."

As they traveled though the desert, they approached what appeared to be a fortress.

"You will be safe here", Stefan said to them.

"Thank you, we would not have lasted much longer out there", Ash responded, "If the assassins had not killed us then the heat would have."

"He has saved many of us," another figure emerged from the fort

"Soren? Wow it has been a while", Micaiah said.

"Yes, many things have changed since we were together last."

"And we must continue to change things. This merciless hunting of my people will stop" Stefan said.

"We will help", she turned to Ash, "right?"

"No doubt in my mind. These people must pay for what they have done. Anything I can do I will", Ash said.

__

"Then what happened", I asked looking up at Micaiah.

"There seems to be something blocking your other memories. Stronger then the other ones."

"Well at least I know something now and what I am truly fighting for. Even so I know that there is a reason they don't want me to remember the rest."

"How much do you remember?" Soren asked.

"Until I met you in the desert. I also remember everything about lightning magic. Even though I still do not know everything, that has not stopped me before. I'll continue on that promise to do everything I can."

_

A/n: Thank you for reading and sorry if this seems like I crammed too much into one chapter. I wanted to show 10 years of history as quickly as possible. I look forward to writing the next chapters so I hope you will look forward to reading them.


	11. Chapter 11: Blessing of the Curse

Chapter 11: Blessing of the curse

"I understand so much more, thank you Micaiah", I said looking up at her.

"I'm glad I could finally get you back. Things have been so hard here without you."

"How long has it been since I've been gone?" I asked puzzled by why it would be so long. I only remember about a week in the other time.

"It has to be a couple months. How could you just go out and leave me like that?" I could see her joy go to sadness and then go to frustration. She was such a strong person but within she had been hurt so many times.

"Well I'm back now."

"And now Stefan might be gone too", her frustration turned to anger and shouted looking down at the floor with fists clenched, "I feel so powerless. I can't do anything to protect those that I love."

"I know how hard it is. I saw friends and comrades die on a daily bases. We will get though it though", I said standing and placing my arm on her shoulder. Even so, she had a point. We had been through so much and there was no end in sight.

"I hope so", she said, "anyway today has been an eventful day, we should get some rest". I had to agree with her. For once, it seemed like I was safe. Hidden in the desert, no war to fight the next day. Nothing could come easy but I didn't feel as if I might die the next day.

I found a place to lie down so I took it. After all the battles, some sleep would be nice. I just hoped Stefan and Cheese would be all right. I know they could handle themselves in a fight but those tigers were so strong. Just before I was about to fall asleep I heard a voice talking to me.

"So you know who you are now?" I looked up to see Brandon sitting in the floor beside me.

"Yea, we have gotten into something much bigger then I could have imagined."

"So more fights like that last one?"

"Sadly they might be even worse. You still in a lot of pain?"

"Yea but I've been through worse. I can walk not since Micaiah healed me so it's getting better. Just don't ask me to fight another one of them anytime soon", he said trying to laugh but I could see his pain making it hard.

"I need some sleep and I'm sure you to do", I said to him.

"Yea, hopefully I'll feel better in the morning".

I once again tried to sleep. On the horizon of unconsciousness, I heard another sound. In the distance, I could hear the clashing of steel and the screams of pain. As much as I wanted to sleep, I decided to investigate. As I went to look outside, I saw Stefan running into our fort.

"What's going on?" I asked him. I noticed that his body was covered with slashes.

"They somehow found us. We have to eliminate them", he said going into the rest of the fort to wake the others. Finally, I fight where I know what I'm doing, I thought to myself.

Both sides of the battle were small. We numbered only about 20 and the enemy had only about 40 men. Stefan ran out and killed three enemy swordsmen while easily evading their attacks. Even in his injured state, they were no match for the skilled swordsman. Soren several enemies away with his wind magic the fire mage Tormad incinerated multiple enemies. Micaiah's light magic also killed them with ease. We also had several beast-men, laguz on are side. The tiger Muarim led them and they tour through the enemies.

I swiftly built up lighting in my hands and fired it at the enemies. The spheres of lighting took down multiple enemies. Then I heard arrows coming from behind me. I swiftly turned and fired at them incinerating the arrows. I then proceeded to call lightning from the sky to strike the two archers.

The enemy general was an armored knight in dark red armor. He carried a massive shield and axe. Stefan went after him but his blade couldn't penetrate the armor.

"Combine our magic", I shouted. Micaiah, Soren, Tormad, and I prepared for unison of our magic. First Micaiah hit him with a burst of light magic and then the three of us fired streams of fire lightning and wind at him and they combined into one. The attack went straight through his shield and armor and the life left him as the body fell to the ground.

Muarim came toward us and reverted to his human form. "I think a few of them escaped".

"It will be hard to track them in the dark." We then saw several bursts of light in the distance. I then saw a figure approaching us in the sky. It looked like a human but had grey wings. He landed in front of us.

"Don't worry I took care of those trying to escape. It's good to see you again Ash", he said looking at me. That face and voice, I recognized it, but it was buried deep in my memory. Then it came to me.

"Sephiran, good to see you again too. You didn't come just to help us fight though did you?" I asked him.

"No, I am here to finish the job that Micaiah started, and to awaken the power of the curse."

"Wait what curse?" at that question, light began to glow around him like the tigers before. From that light emerged a beautiful gray bird. His wingspan matched his previous height. Then he began chanting in a language far from the common tongue. As the galder began, light gathered in a circle around him. The light went off him and covered me. With that light, the clouds in my memory fled. There were still some scars in it but I could see what was being concealed. Within me lied a power that could change the world. Other memories also flowed back to me. I saw myself acting out events that occurred several months earlier.

__

"In this forest the seid magic is most concentrated."

"So what does that have to do with me and bringing me here?"

"Seid magic is quite different from other magic like your lightning", I heard Sephiran explain to me, "It is perhaps the most powerful of any magic this world has seen but most of it was lost long ago. I have spent much of the last few years learning the secrets of it."

"What kind of power does it posses?" I asked.

"This forest was once merely burnt trees and dead plants. The galder of rebirth revived it into the wondrous forest you see today. And that was merely a fraction of its power."

"Amazing, is this the hope for us that you promised to show me?"

"In a way yes, Emperor Jonathan is a master of ancient dark magic and normal attacks won't defeat him. Seid magic might posses hope but I still don't know enough of it to defeat someone that strong", he told me.

"Then how will it work if it isn't strong enough?"

"By lifting a curse. The seid magic that could bring this forest to life also cast a great curse on this world. The curse made it forbidden for laguz and beroc to have children. The laguz parent would lose their powers and the child would be cursed with a mark. For centuries, this was thought to be the will of the goddess, but only recently, have I learned the truth. After the defeat of Ashera king Lorazieh awoke from his sleep and that, the curse was caused by heron seid from generations ago. Not only that but he found a way to remove this curse. The galder of awakening gave me back the powers of the herons but sadly cost him his life."

"So the laguz affected by this curse can have their powers restored now?" I asked.

"Not just said", he responded, "the branded can be restored to what they were meant to be. The best of both the laguz and the beroc. These powers of both laguz and beroc in one person, which was what the curse was supposed to prevent. That is the power that can save the world and the hope that I have been searching for. Are you ready Ash?"

"Yea, now we may finally be able to change something" as I said this Sephiran began singing a galder. I saw myself overcome by this magic. The mark on my arm began to glow. I could feel a power growing inside of me.

__

"I understand what he was trying to hide", I said.

"One awakened branded was nearly able to defeat the emperor but soon there will be more," Sephiran said to me. He then motioned for Micaiah, Stefan and Soren to come over to us. "It has taken a while but I know have enough power to remove the curse from you three as well. Soon everything will fall into place for all people to be free."

"After all this time will it finally be over?" Micaiah asked hopeful.

"It finally might be", Soren, said but with doubt in his voice

"Either way it won't be long before a larger army finds us. If this new power allows us to end the war then lets get it", Stefan said.

"We leave in the morning then", Sephiran told them.


	12. Chapter 12: Encroachment

Thanks for reading this far and please review. I hope to get the next chapter up sooner then the other recent ones

Chapter 12: Encroachment

With Sephiran taking Micaiah, Stefan, and Soren to receive the same power I had earlier, it looked like we might stand a chance against the empire. After all that had happened though, I could not see things returning to normal. It had been nearly ten years since that night we fled Daien and now Daien is no longer a nation. These thoughts ran through my head as I attempted to sleep the rest of the night.

I awoke to the noises of people talking and when I opened my eyes, I saw the sun had already risen quite high into the sky. The base was quite cool for the desert that morning. When I rose and walked around, I realized that everyone else was already awake. I wanted to get a chance to thank Sephiran before he left since he was known to disappear for long periods. When I went to look for him, I ran into Brandon.

"You certainly look better today", I said noticing he was walking around and appeared to be in no pain.

"Yea, that Sephiran guy is amazing. He touched me with his staff and all my pain is gone."

"He has defiantly helped us a lot. I think he is the only one of us that actually understands this whole mess", I replied, "You have any idea where he is now? I wanted to thank him before he left."

"Yea he's out side the entrance getting ready to leave. I was going to go get you so you could see him before he left", Brandon answered, "he tried to explain this whole mess to me but I still don't understand nearly all of it."

Therefore, Brandon and I went out to where Sephiran and the others were standing. At the same time we got out there one of our scouts returned to the base.

"I bring dire news", the scout said, "the empire has a force of about 1000 solders less then 20 miles away. They don't seem to know where we are but they know we are close."

"Okay, so what do we do?" I asked.

"We have to make them turn back", Stefan said, "If they find the base then there is no way we could kill all of them before one of them would report it. If however we can force them to retreat by ambushing them then they will retreat and not know anything more."

"It won't be that easy though", Soren added, "They outnumber us two to one as it is. We will have to make sure that the attack can cause them to flee before their numbers will give them the advantage."

Sephiran then added, "This shows the need to perform the awakening galder as soon as we can."

"Go take them then", I said to Sephiran, "it will be worth not having them for a battle when they possess the same power as I do and mine should be enough to handle this situation."

"Don't overuse it though", Sephiran warned me, "your body isn't use to that kind of power so it will exhaust you to unleash it. Stick to your lightning magic alone until you have had time to control the power." After that, Sephiran warped them to the Serenes Forest.

"Looks like I'll be fighting again sooner then I had planned", Brandon said to me.

"You don't have to come with".

"I'm coming anyway", he said cutting me off, and "if we don't win this fight then it is over for us so I will use my lance to make sure we do win."

"Thanks", I said admiring his determination and loyalty.

We set out for the enemy camp. The scout reported that they mostly traveled at night and rested during the blistering desert days. While our army was smaller, we thought we had enough power to defeat them. Our plan was to surround them during the night and the attack while they rested in the day. The night should give us enough cover to hide near them but we would have to be careful that they didn't hear us and did not run into us with their movement. During the night, we took the opportunity to spy on our enemies. Their leader was general Ylexia. She was a powerful warrior with a fighting style unlike anything I had seen before. She had long orange hair tied up in a ponytail as she walked around the camp ordering her men around. Her army possessed a balanced force comprised of about even numbers of sword, axe, and lance users. There were a few archers but most of the army was close-ranged fighters.

As the sun began to rise, I instructed the army to hide among the dunes in the desert. There was not a cloud in the sky so a lightning bolt would indicate to the divided army to attack. They seemed to anticipate an event like this occurring and set several dozen watches out to look for an ambush like ours. Even so, we had to strike now with them less then 5 miles away from the base.

I gave the signal. A lightning bolt struck a nearby sand dune and the army changed at the camp. Muarim switched to his tiger form and he and the rest of our laguz forces led the attack. Their army quickly readied for the attack and the element of surprise would not give us the advantage I had hoped. To start the tigers and the rest of our army were pushing back the lines of the empire. Perhaps we could get them to retreat now.

"Army of the empire", I said loudly, "if you wish to avoid further deaths then leave this desert now".

"Don't make me laugh. Our army outnumbers you and your surprise attack has failed", Ylexia said seeing through my plan, "now all of you rebels shall die."

Two of our archers had hidden behind one of the enemy tents. They saw an opportunity to take down the general so they fired at her. Ylexia heard the arrows and turned to block the attack by using the shield she had in her left hand. With incredible agility, she jumped over the tent and stuck one of the archers with a heavy metal glove she wielded in her right hand. The other archer tried to run but Ylexia ran through him with her glove killing him as well.

The battle on the front line carried on. Our foot solders attempted to bolster the laguz change. I had practiced using my thunder magic, not only as an attack, but also to defend my self with it. I build up the lightning in my hands and send the magic at a swordsman electrocuting him. Then an axmen charged at me but I let loose a swift blast of lightning stunning him for a second giving me enough time to fire a larger lightning ball killing him as well. During the battle, I tried to keep lightning built up in at least one hand that way I could stop an enemy that got around our attack. I grabbed the blade of a swordsman that tried to strike me with my hands protected by my magic. I then proceeded to send the lightning in my hands into his body through the sword. It was then that the battle turned against us.

The general joined her men on the front line. She bashed a couple of our swordsman with her glove killing them. She evaded our attacks by blocking them with her shield or her gloving or oftentimes just dodging them. She was distracted though by those near her she did not see the possibility of a ranged attack. Right as she killed her enemies around her, I changed a ball of lightning and fired it. The attack connected and sent her back several feet. To my surprise, however she quickly got up. No normal person could take that attack so easily. I then charged at her hoping to finish her assuming that attack had at least weakened her.


	13. Chapter 13: General Ylexia

Chapter 13: General Ylexia

One more strike and I can end this, I thought to myself as I charged at Ylexia. I fired another bolt at her but she blocked it and ran at me. She threw a punch at me so I used the lightning to put up a shield. However, her punch was fast and strong enough to brake through my shield. The force of metal on my face sent me back. Her attack was so strong and the pain so intense.

"State your name so I will know the identity of the general I will have slain", she said.

"I'm Ash", I said getting up again, "but I don't plan on dieing today".

I gathered my magic once more. This time I called lightning down from the sky. She leapt out of the way just before the attack hit. She ran at me again so I used my magic to make a field of lightning. The field struck her stopping her attack. I ran up to her and punched her in the face with my hand covered with lightning. I then hit her with a charged beam of lightning from my other hand. Finally, I called down multiple strikes of lightning striking her and sending her onto her back.

She got up again but this time the attacks did something to her. She would not be defeated this easily though. She then summoned manna from around her and focused it into her glove. She then ran at me but even faster then before. I fried a bolt of lightning at her but she dodged it and got close to me. She delivered a powerful uppercut sending me a foot into the air. She then jumped after me, punched and slammed me into the ground. The pain was so much I did not feel like I could get up. She then readied to strike again aiming at my face but I rolled out of the way just in time. I got up and tried to build up enough magic to fight her. This was stopped by a punch in my stomach. She then kicked my feet out from under me and pounded me into the ground. There was no way I could beat her. Her power and speed overwhelmed my magic. I used what magic I could to launch a wave of lightning at her. It forced her back a bit but caused no harm to her. Even so that gave me time, which I needed most now.

Only one option remained. I built up a power deep inside of me. The mark on my arm began to glow. The glow soon encompassed my entire body. Then I began to grow. I became taller with both arms and legs growing. Then my skin began to change. It turned black and changed to scales. Then from my back, powerful black wings emerged. The glow subsided. I was no longer a human once the transformation was completed. I was now a black dragon.

The transformation shocked Ylexia but she stood her ground.

"A couple tricks won't save you", she shouted at me and then charged at me. I was now over twice her size and flew into the air to escape her attack. Now the true power of the branded would show. I gathered up my enormous manna supply into my mouth. I then shot a blast of lightning at her. She tried to block the massive attack with her shield but the attack would not be stopped. The strike sent her onto her back and burnt the ground she stood upon. To my surprise, she rose again.

I swooped down at her and swiped at her with my claws. She once again used her shield to block it but the attack shattered it. She would give up though. She jumped high into the air and focused all her manna and power into her glove. She dove down at me and with all the power her knuckle began to glow brightly. I called down multiple lightning strikes at her and breathed another stream of lightning at her. All the attacks hit her but even through all this she struck me with a force like none I had experienced before. Her fist on my face slammed me into the ground shaking the earth around us. Luckily, I my dragon form was able to take the attack much better then my beroc form could.

Both of us rose again. This time though her wounds were affecting her. She slowly got up using her hands to push against the shattered ground. She stared at me and then looked around the battlefield. The empires forces were dwindling and we both saw it. With all the strength she had remaining she called a retreat. Their army pulled back and she went with it.

We could pursue them but we had accomplished what we wanted. The battle was won and the enemy was leaving the desert. I reverted to my beroc form and went back to the army. Most of them were awestruck with the power I had just shown. Even though I won, the pain from her punches would be felt for a while.

"The battle is won today. Let them go for now", I said to the army, "Let's head back to the base."

"Yes sir", they all replied in unison.

A/N: A bit shorter then the other chapters but I hope you enjoyed it. Thanks for reading. Please reviews if you liked it, hated it, or just have something to say.


	14. Chapter 14: All or Nothing

Chapter 14: All or Nothing

After the hard fought victory, we went back to our base to plan our next course of action. I wondered how soon Stefan and the rest of them would return. With the power that I had discovered along with what they would soon have, we could change this war. While I was thinking, Brandon walked over to me.

"Wow, I never would have guessed you had that kind of power", he said to me.

"It's a good thing I did. There is no way I could have beaten that general without it."

"I'm glad you're on our side."

"It's not just me though. It's our whole army fighting together as one. You may not have an incredible flashy power but your simple skills with the lance are nothing to laugh at," I said.

"True, after all the battles I've been in I hope I have learned something. With all these brutal fights I'm glad I got through one without serious injury", he said chuckling.

"I'm glad we you with us. You have done so much to help me."

As I finished the sentence, the others teleported back to us. We ran out to meet them.

"Did it work?" I asked them.

"I'm not sure exactly what happened but I can feel a new power in me", Stefan said.

"The same for me. I'm curious to see what it can do", Soren said.

"I don't feel a raw power like you say you do. I feel something but it is more a power of peace and order", said Micaiah.

"In that case its time to use this new power", I stated, "I know what the power of the awakening can do. We could utilize it to end this war."

"Even with this kind of power how could 4 people end a war?" Soren questioned.

"By taking out their leader. I suggest a surprise attack on the empire's capital and to kill Emperor Jonathan", I stated.

"How do you know it would be enough though?" Soren asked.

"If it isn't enough then what is?" I asked.

"Good point", Stefan said, "we can't just keep hiding from them."

"So, are you in?" I asked.

"Sure, let's end this", Soren said confidently.

"The fight will soon be over", said Stefan.

"I want this suffering to end so I will fight", replied Micaiah.

"Count me in too", Brandon added.

"Are you sure?" Stefan asked him.

"I didn't come this far just to miss the final fight. You never know what a lancer can bring to the fight", he said.

"Okay so it's the five of us then", Stefan said, and "so what is our plan?"

"I think I have an idea", Soren stated, "Our first problem is to get to Jonathan. His army is huge and attacking the capital where he is would be suicide."

"What about having Sephiran teleport us near him?" I asked.

"Using his warp powers drains him. We would be sitting ducks", Soren explained, "I propose something more radical, more dangerous".

"What is it?" Stefan asked.

"If we fail then the war is over. This is truly an all or nothing situation. Therefore, I propose giving them exactly what they want. We reveal the location of our base."

"That's suicide though!" Stefan exclaimed.

"That's exactly what they will think. When they know where we are, they will send everything that they have to destroy us. Leaving their capital wide open. Besides we will be expecting the attack but they will not."

"So then we can just march in and defeat him", I said.

"Exactly, we don't know what to expect from him but together we should be able to defeat him", Soren said, "and if we expect an attack we can prepare for it."

_

Therefore, the attack was set. Information was leaked to the empires forces and the prepared to attack our base. Our force planned to leave our base 2 days before the attack would get to us. That would give us enough time to get to the capital. Our base was rigged with several traps to keep our fighters alive. While they would be out numbed, they would have the desert on their side. The location of the base would also make it difficult for the army to be overwhelmed all at once. Massive cliffs surrounded it giving us the ability to limit enemy forces. Even with all this, I wondered if it would be enough. After all an army as strong as possibly a million would be attacking them. With everything we had, we numbered only a few thousand. Right before we left our plans were changed.

"Is everyone ready", Stefan said.

"Yes", Soren, Brandon, and I replied in unison.

"I can't come with you," Micaiah said.

"Why", I asked her.

"I can't just abandon them like this. They need a leader so I will stay here with them. Go and end this war", she said with resolve.

"I understand", I said, "We will try to end this before the battle can begin".

"Thank you", she said returning to the base with Miriam and Tormad. Then the four of us continued on our way.

The four of us continued on the march to the empire capital. During the first day, we met no resistance. I guessed most of the empires forces were on the way to our base. We made our camp about 10 miles from the capital. A minimal force guarded the cities outer walls. Our plan was to kill the guards and one gate and then to continue on to the emperor. Tomorrow the war would end.

That night while Stefan was sharpening his blade I finally was able to ask him something that had been bugging me.

"What happened in the battle with the tigers?"

"Oh", he said with a tone of sadness, "That battle continued on for over an hour after you left. During the battle, we learned about the army that would soon be attacking the base. Both of us were too badly hurt to fight much longer. Night was approaching and we knew that we would not stand a chance in the dark against the beasts. There was a small lull in the forces and Cheese told me to run. One of the tigers chased me but Cheese threw his sword at it. I'm guessing he didn't live much longer."

"Incredible, he has done so much to help us".

"I hardly knew him but he will be missed", Stefan replied.

The new dawn came and we were ready to make our move. The nearest gate had only a dozen guards. When we were close, Soren and I attacked them from range with wind and lightning. Brandon and Stefan finished them off. As we went to enter the gates, a powerful blast struck all four of us. As we, rose to see what struck us we saw a mighty black dragon in the sky. He breathed another ebon blast at us. Soren then used his wind magic to deflect the attack.

The attacks made a hole in the gate. "Go", Soren said to us, "I will take care of him then join you soon".

"We can take him together", I protested.

"There isn't enough time. If we wait too long we will lose the element of surprise. Go!" and we went through the gate and into the city

Therefore, we ran. We could here the clash of power in the distance as we went deeper into the city. Several swordsmen tried to block our path. Stefan ran at them blocking the attack of the first one and slicing through them. He rolled out of the way of the other two and ran back slicing through and killing both of them. With the swordsman dead, we started to continue on our way until we heard a voice call out to us.

"You have some power for being such despicable beings", the voice said to us, "I wonder what you will do when you face true power." In our part was a muscular man with long fiery red hair. He appeared to be unarmed.

"It's been a while general, or should I say king, Skrimir", Stefan said to him, "I'm surprised to see the hot blooded lion king would stay behind and miss the battle."

"Bah, I knew you puny beings would have something planned. I thought I might get to kill the strongest pray here. It looks like I was right", he replied.

"In that case I challenge you, to a one on one fight. Let us see if my skill with the blade can match your raw power", Stefan said.

"Wait we can fight him better together", I protested.

"It's too risky for us to waste anymore time. If we all stay here to fight we will be too worn out by the time we reach the emperor", Stefan explained.

"One or many it's all the same to me. Let's see if your confidence can stand the power of my fang". Skrimir said and transformed into his lion form. He was a powerful red lion with a flowing mane. Brandon and I continued on our way and we heard a terrible clash of claw and steal. We came closer to the former palace of the apostle. Emperor Jonathan had taken over the palace after the rebels took over the capital.

Once we got to the palace, only one guard remained. He stood carrying a large axe. He seemed not to notice us approaching.

"Go", I quietly told Brandon. I called down a strike of lightning but the axmen jumped out of the way of the attack. He then blocked Brandon's lance and struck him with his axe. The impact sent Brandon back a few feet. The axmen the charged at Brandon but he rolled out of the way. Brandon got up and the lance and axe stuck each other.

"Go!" he told me. So that was Brandon's plan. He put himself between the enemy and me and I was between them and the palace. I had no choice but to take this opportunity.

"Don't die", I said to him as I ran into the palace. In there the emperor was waiting for me.

"The time has come. You shall fall today!" I exclaimed to Emperor Jonathan.

_

Thanks for those who read and even more so to those who tell me what you think of this.


	15. Chapter 15: To each his own

Chapter 15: To each his own.

Soren gazed up at the mighty dragon that flew overhead. It breathed another ebon blast at Soren. Soren tried to use his wind to block it again but the blast sliced through the windshield and struck him. The attack sent Soren into the air. Kurthnaga then swooped down and stuck Soren with his claws. The injured mage collided with the ground. Soren slowly rose again though in intense pain. He called down strikes of lightning but the dragon king evaded them. Kurthnaga followed with another ebon blast.

Soren saw that this attack would be the end of this. He had only one chance left. He summoned the power he had been given by Sephiran, and began to transform. The power of the transformation blocked the attack and Soren emerged as a black dragon as well. Soren rose into the sky and fired his own windblast from his mouth. Kurthnaga counted with his own ebon blast and the two powers met in the sky. The explosion of the created a blinding light and destroyed both attacks.

Soren then decided to use his wind magic combined with his new dragon powers. Soren summoned the wind to propel him through the sky and charged at the dragon king. Kurthnaga had no way to match Soren's speed. He tried to blast Soren out of the sky but Soren used the wind to fly above the attack. Soren then dove at the dragon king slicing though him with his claws. This did some damage but Kurthnaga was able to attack when Soren had his back turned. The attack connected and sent Soren toward the ground; however, he was able to use the wind to recover.

Kurthnaga unleashed a fury of blasts toward Soren. Soren used the manna from his dragon form combined with his skill of wind magic to create a large cyclone around Kurthnaga. The cyclone carried the blasts away from Soren and he then guided them back toward the dragon king. Soren then added several of his own blasts to the cyclone. The attacks combined and struck Kurthnaga sending him plummeting to the ground. Soren landed and reverted to his human form. He checked to confirm that the body was dead and then continued into the city.

_

"Fight me if you can puny human", Skrimir said charging at the swordsmen. Stefan rolled to dodge the attack then sliced at Skrimir. The lion king countered with a slice of his claw and deflected the blade leaving several slash marks in it. Stefan knew he could not win in a battle of pure power. He jumped back to dodge the lion's next claw. Getting close to Skrimir could mean death for the swordsman and they both knew it. Stefan would have to catch the lion off guard in order to win.

Stefan leapt into the air and looked like he would use gravity to give himself more power. Skrimir looked up and watched for the coming attack. Then Stefan threw his sword down right at Skrimir. Skrmir was surprised but was able to leap out of the attack and Stefan landed right beside his blade. Stefan pulled it out of the ground and charged at Skrimir. The lion used his claws to deflect the blades.

Stefan then called upon his awakened powers not to transform but to add its power to his current form. Stefan jumped across Skrmir's back and then tried slashing at the lion again. Once again, Skrimir turned to deflect the attack. Even Stefan's new strength was no match for the lion's claw. Stefan switched his blade to his left hand and prepared his strike. Stefan went in for the attack and once again, Skrimir raised his claw to block it. Then Stefan took a small step to the side and threw his sword back to the right hand. Stefan was at Skrmir's side and the lion vulnerable in the middle of his attempted deflection. Stefan took this opportunity to slash across Skrmir's side. With the swordsmen's new power, the attack hurt the lion.

In rage, the lion jumped after Stefan. Stefan had the opening he was looking for. While Skrimir was in the air, Stefan went under him and pierced his chest with his blade. Skrimir tumbled to the ground in pain and reverted to his human form.

"It looks like I've lost", Skrimir said, "I won't resist anymore. Finish this".

"I have", Stefan replied, "you are defeated, that is enough".

"Pitiful, Fine if you won't do it I will", Skrimir said pulling out a dagger from his cloak. He then shoved it into his heart, "if I can't even defeat one enemy then I have no right to lead them at all", he said as the life exited him.

_

"You think a puny lancer can stop a mighty axmen like me?" the axmen said getting ready to attack Brandon.

"We shall see", Brandon, replied.

"Face the power of Jamie and die!" he said charging at him. Brandon held his shield up to block the attack. The force of the impact caused Brandon to slide back several inches but he held his ground. Brandon then thrust his lance and him but he sidestepped the attack and then sliced his axe horizontally at Brandon's chest. His shield once again took the attack but it still sent him into the air and Brandon landed on his back. Jamie then sliced down at him but Brandon rolled out of the way and rose to his feet. He then charged at Jamie with his lance Jamie swung the lance away with his axe then once again struck Brandon's shield. This time the shield shattered.

"How will you defend yourself now?" Jamie said mocking his opponent. He then launched a fury of attacks at the lancer. Brandon barely dodged the attacks, jumping over some and ducking others. The last attack made contact though slicing into Brandon's leg. Brandon saw a crimson stain seeping out from his armor as the pain built up in his leg. The pain caused him to fall to his knees. He knew the end was coming if he didn't do something. He rose up resisting the pain and managed to stand up.

"How many time will you rise up to take more punishment?" the axmen asked.

"As many times as you knock me down", Brandon said decisively. He managed to thrust his lance at Jamie's face but Jamie blocked it with the head of his axe. Jamie prepared to knock the lance away and end this fight. Brandon had attacked with the blunt side of his lance and kept the head toward him. As Jamie knocked the attack away, Brandon rotated the lance and pierced Jamie's heart right before the axe would have sliced through Brandon's back. Jamie dropped the axe and it harmlessly bounced of Brandon's armor.

Then the pain came back. Brandon fell to ground knowing that if the bleeding didn't stop soon it could kill him. He looked and saw no one else around.

_

Micaiah looked around the desert and saw no enemies coming. That would change soon however. She wondered how she could stop such a large army with so few forces. Her army comprised of the branded that have taken refuge in the desert along with the former laguz emancipation army. They had survived so far and she had commanded difficult battles before but nothing like this. As Micaiah prepared to address the troupes two wolfs approached them from over the cliffs.

"Micaiah", the white one called out, reverting to her human form.

"Nailah", Micaiah exclaimed glad to see her old friend. "And Volug too", she said seeing the black wolf beside her.

"We heard that you could use some help", Nailah said.

"Yea, but how did you know about this?" Micaiah asked.

"A long story so I will tell you when this battle is won".

A couple hours later, her forces were ready. The empires forces were coming through the opening in the cliffs that surrounded their base. The sun was just above the cliffs behind the base making it much harder for the invaders to see. As they began to advance into the cliffs, the rebels made their move.

The archers on the cliffs began firing at the army. Using the sun to their advantage, the archers safely fired hundreds of arrows at the approaching army. They army continued to advance through the storm of arrows. When they became closer, Micaiah had the laguz charge the army. Muarim and Nailah led the attack. The empire was caught off guard by the attack, and even with their numbers, it was difficult for them to fend of the attack.

Once the laguz lost the element of surprise, they were forced to retreat. Then the empire began a charge at the base. Wave after wave of empire forces came. Each wave alone outnumbered the rebel forces. The rebels were pinned against their base with even the mightiest of them being unable to fight off the massive numbers. Micaiah saw that her army was falling; there was nothing she could do. She saw Nailah ripping through dozens of enemies but she was shot by several archers then stricken by multiple blades. Even with the desert on their side, all hope seemed lost.

_

This battle would require everything I had if I were to win. I know my beroc form would be not match for him. Immediately I transformed into my black dragon form. The emperor that stood before seemed unimpressed.

"You think that same trick will save you again? It didn't even work last time", He said to me.

"I know what to expect. I know how to use the power of the dragon. It ends now!" I replied. He rose from his throne. He was a giant, as tall as my dragon form. I fired a stream of lightning from my mouth. He rose his hand a formed a shield of dark energy to block it. He then ran at me but I sidestepped his attack and then fired another blast at his back. He then vanished. Seconds later, her appeared behind me and fired dark magic at me. I fell to the ground but got up quickly

I then took to the sky. I called down strikes of lightning that struck the ceiling before getting to us. Through the fury of lightning, the ceiling of the palace began to collapse. Eventually there was a hole in the ceiling big enough for me to send the lightning through. I then sent the bolts through the hole and at the emperor. I sent the lightning in circles around him forcing him to defend all around him. He easily put up a shield once again just as I had expected. The lightning was merely a distraction as I used more lightning to destroy the ceiling and it began to cave in. I flew out the hole I had made earlier and watched as his own palace killed the emperor.

When I thought that I had won a powerful dark force obliterated the rubble. He rose from the ruins nearly unharmed. A dark pillar from the sky then struck me as it slammed me into the ground before disintegrating. He then slammed me against what used be a palace wall. I called upon lightning to strike him but he used his dark powers to reflect it back at me. After the blast, I was laying on the ground.

"You were right about one thing", he said to me, "it will end today."

_

Another point of view

"Come on, hurry up", I said to him. Together we leapt from building to building heading toward the center of the city. How could he so foolish to try something like that? I hope I can make it in time. If not, no I don't want to think about that. We just have to go faster. As we approached the palace, I noticed it being in ruins. His eyes focused on a lancer that appeared badly hurt.

"I have to help him", he said to me.

"There isn't enough time!" I responded

"Go on without me then. I will be there soon", he replied. That fool! He is going to get us all killed. I had no time to argue though so I went without him. I just hope it's not too late.


	16. Chapter 16: United We Stand

Chapter 16: United we stand

Micaiah looked around and saw her army falling all around her. So much death. Everything they had been working for was disappearing before her eyes. Those that were able were still fighting with everything they had but it would not be enough. She saw Muarim die trying to protect Tormad. So much more then she could take.

She lost focus on fighting. Micaiah attempted to defend herself with her magic but it was not enough. A swordsman held her up against the side of the building and prepared to end the fight. Before the swordsmen could strike, several daggers struck him and he fell to the ground.

"Stay back here", the green haired savior said as he ran to help the failing army. Several archers set their sites on Micaiah. Before the arrows could hit her, a black figure in front of her blocked the attacks. The heavily armored figure then charged at the archers and easily killed them. Micaiah was in awe of two people she thought were gone forever, returning to her life, in her bleakest moment. Even so two more men would not make a difference in a battle like this.

As these thoughts raced through her mind, she saw something approaching from the sky. As they got closer, she recognized it as being the hawk army. A number of pegasus accompanied it. She could make out Queen Elincia riding one of them. Many of the pegasus carried multiple riders who dismounted and battled the empires forces. The combined hawk and Crimean army gave the rebels a chance.

Micaiah called upon her awakened powers to transform into a gray heron. She then combined her healing magic with heron galder, and healed and rejuvenated much of the army. The revitalized rebel army combined with the hawk and Crimean army pushed back the charge of the empire's army. When the empire saw that this battle would not be as easy as they originally thought they became disheartened. Steadily the empire was pushed back. The empire decided to retreat beyond the opening in the cliffs. Micaiah let the go and instead focused on healing those that she still could. She also wanted to talk to Sothe.

_

I looked up at the Emperor about to end my life. I guess the powers of the black dragon weren't as much as I had thought. I tried to get off one more attack but it was no use. I couldn't even move.

I looked up at the sky preparing for the end when I saw a figure jump from the rubble at the Emperor. I thought I had seen her before. Long flowing orange hair, a thick bronze knuckle on her fist, it was Ylexia!? Great, as if things weren't bad enough here. She leapt to Jonathan, probably wanting to help finish me off. I saw her hand building up energy in it; it looked like the same attack that sent me into the ground before. Only this time as she was charging it she was going toward Jonathan. The punch landed in his face and sent the Emperor on to his back.

"What are you doing you crazy women?!" he shouted to her as he got back up.

"I won't let you hurt Ash", she replied standing her ground. I was thankful that she saved my life but confused at the change since the last time we met. "Somehow that lightning in the battle began to erode your control over me. I was separated from the army do to the fluctuating control over me. Luckily, someone found me in the desert and finished healing me. And now, its time for revenge", she explained.

Ylexia was as agile as ever dodging his attacks even without her shield. He was still able to block any incoming attacks with his magic. If I could get up and help we might stand a chance, but alone, I don't see how she could win.

"Don't worry Ash, I got you", I heard a familiar voice say from behind me. I could feel my wounds beginning to heal. I felt power returning to me. I looked to see who it was but I did not recognize him.

"I look a bit different this time don't I?" the person said apparently sensing my confusing. He was holding a staff and the power from the staff went out to heal my wounds. Then the voice hit me.

"Cheese!" I exclaimed, "But why are you?"

"I'll explain later", he said cutting me off. Brandon then walked in beside him. I noticed the wound on his leg.

"I thought I was going to die out there, but then he came and started to heal my wounds", Brandon said.

"I thought I should make up for the ones I had inflicted", he replied and then turned to me, "you should be good to fight", he said.

I rose and prepared to help Ylexia who by this point was having difficulty keeping up with Jonathan. Soren and Stefan then ran into the destroyed palace. They saw the battle that was taking place and immediately transformed into their laguz forms. Soren was a black dragon similar to me. He was slightly smaller but overall very similar. Stefan was a green lion, I found it strange but then remembered Muarim. Cheese then cast some kind of spell on us that infused us with more power and speed.

I sent a burst of lightning at the emperor whom he blocked but both of us knew I was stronger this time around. Soren took to the sky and sent blasts of wind down at Jonathan. Brandon rode on Stefan's back as the lion charged at the emperor. Stefan jumped up at him but Jonathan knocked him away just before he could connect. As Stefan was knocked away, Brandon jumped off his back and sent his lance into the giant's shoulder. As Brandon landed, Cheese ran over to Ylexia and healed the wounds she received in the battle.

"Why you little pests. I never thought you would be this hard to squash!" Jonathan exclaimed. He held his hands up to the sky and dark storm clouds began rolling in. He began to speak an incantation, "from the darkest nights I call upon thee, send thy blackest thunder to destroy my enemy!" The lightning began. It stuck all around the palace. Brandon barely missed being hit by one. The lightning surrounded him any time we tried to approached Jonathan. We had no time to prepare any ranged attacks with the threat of lightning striking us at any moment. Jonathan held out his hand and several bolts of lightning struck it. He then sent them out at us. The first one stuck Soren and he fell out of the sky. He then set it sights on me. I remembered the power lightning magic had over dragons so I shifted back to my human form.

"Pathetic, your human form is even more useless then your dragon form", he said to me. He then shot a bolt of lightning toward me. I fell to the ground to avoid being hit. He then fired again. I jumped into the air, and somehow did a back flip to avoid being hit. He mumbled something under his breath and fired a stream of lightning at me. This one was too big to dodge. Before it hit me and incantation came to me and I began saying it, "oh lightning of the sky heed thy new master's cry, take my body and fill it with your might, so that we may see another night". After I said this, the lightning struck me. I could feel the lightning in my body but it wasn't hurting me. It was infusing me with its power. The others took this distraction to attack the emperor. Ylexia and Brandon mounted on Stefan's back.

Stefan jumped up at him and tore through him with claws and fangs. Brandon and Ylexia leapt from Stefan's back. Brandon used all his strength to shove his lance into him. Ylexia build up power in her fist for another punch. The lance and claws struck his back while the punch struck him in the back of the head. The emperor was sent forward and clearly in pain. I then sent all the lightning I had in my body at him. Lightning struck him from both the sky and me. I had never harnessed that much power as a human or even a dragon before. When the combined burst struck him, he screamed in pain and then as the attack left him, he fell to the ground

He looked up at me and muttered, "Impressive". His body then evaporated into darkness.

"It's finally over", I said looking at my weary friends.

"No, this is only the beginning". I looked behind me and saw Sephiran. Just then, a massive earthquake began.

___

A/N: And this concluded the end of part two. I honestly think this is the best chapter I have written so I hope you liked it. While there is a part 3 and possibly 4 to this story, it will be a while if I decide to write it. I want to ask you to please review and I want to thank those of you who have reviewed.


	17. Chapter 17: Truth and history

A/N: Yes I decided to continue this fic. As always updates will probably be slow but that hopefully won't stop you from reading. Please review and enjoy.

Chapter 17: Truth and a history lesson

"Didn't we just defeat there leader though? What more is there to do?" I asked Sephiran.

"Jonathan was just a pawn. With his defeat, the real battle will begin," he responded.

"So who is this new foe?" I said.

"Even I know little about them," he conceded, "They are masters of the ancient magic. Their power is beyond anything you could imagine."

"Well if we just took down that giant and his army, how hard could this new foe be?" Brandon asked.

"You didn't just give us these powers to fight Jonathan did you?" Stefan said. He and the other branded shifted back to their human form.

"You see my plan then. I knew all along that Jonathan was not the end of their destruction."

"So what do we do now?" I asked.

"I shall take us all back to the base so I can explain it all at once." Sephiran raised his staff in the air and a light engulfed all of us. As the light faded, I noticed that we had all been teleported back to the desert base. Even Ylexia was with us.

The base was dark, save for some candles. Night had fallen recently, leading to the cool air sweeping through the base. "Magic like that always amazes me," Brandon commented. I had to agree with him. Even controlling the power of lightning was nothing like being able to warp hundreds of miles in a second.

As we continued in the base I saw Micaiah sitting on a bench talking to someone I had not seen in ages. Even with his unique green hair, it was hard to recognize the former king of Daien. It had been many years since I thought he had perished but he must have escaped.

"Ash!" Micaiah yelled as she saw me. She rapped her arms around me and said, "You're all right." Save for a few minor injuries, she was right.

"It's good to see you again too," I responded. "And you as well, my king" I said facing Sothe.

He chucked slightly at being called a king, "I am no longer a king since my country was destroyed by those people. I can't believe that my people could be filled with so much hatred." As I agreed with him, I noticed Sephiran had vanished. The evening continued as any other, with friends mingling and more battle plans drawn out. Cheese and Ylexia were both welcomed to our small army. We would take anyone who could fight and wanted to help us.

While dinner was being served, Sephiran reappeared. He was accompanied by a large figure in heavy black armor. When dinner was finished Sephiran made an announcement, "Attention everyone," even though Sephiran was rarely with us, he was respected for his wisdom and knowledge, "today all of you fought in possibly the hardest battle of your life and those of you who are still alive, won. I am here to tell you that this war is far from over. An even greater enemy looms over the horizon. Over the past few years I have been planning for this day. While I'm sure none of you has ever heard of this enemy before, I assure you that she possesses powers that will destroy any who are not ready. This is the goddess of suffering, Ykpourn." Chatter of confusion filled the camp at this name of this strange foe. "All of you have heard of Ashera and Yune but they were not the only two. Ykpourn hates humanity but the presence of the two goddesses here stopped her from coming. However, their departure made it possible for her to wreck havoc. Emperor Jonathan was her instrument to carry out her plan until she gained her full power. She is invincible against those the goddesses created so normal means can't defeat her. However, she is vulnerable to those the goddesses didn't make. The branded have a unique power that allows them to combine the best of both the beroc and laguz to battle with and this is her only weakness.

"Over the past few years I have searched for a way to unleash this power, but so far I have been able to release it on only a few of you. Very recently, I have discovered a way to grant everyone here this power. Micaiah come up here," he said. She ran to stand beside him. "Now transform into your heron form," he commanded as the two of them transformed. They began singing different galders. Sephiran's was the galder of awakening, that gave me my powers, and Micaiah's was the galder of rejuvenation. Together the spells combined and a wave of beautiful music drifted over us. The large number of Branded became infused with a new strength. I had seen and experienced what just one or what a small number of these could do. With an entire army of them, we seemed unbeatable.

After the excitement of this new power calmed slightly, Cheese came to me and asked if I would gather his companions so he could share his story. After a few minuets, I returned with Brandon, Stefan and Soren. He and Ylexia were waiting for us.

"I have been hiding a lot from you for a while," he said, "All of you know that I am not from this time but I never told you why I wanted to flee it. Back when I was much younger, I was a swordsman in the military. I was never the best but I could defend myself if I had too. A small battle broke out between my city and the neighboring one. I was part of the force sent to defeat their military. Well the battle was much harder then we thought it would be and nearly all of our army was defeated and killed. Our town blamed us the survivors for the defeat. While the towns were in peace soon after, we were always blamed for that defeat. I fled the town and wanted to one day go back to prove myself. That day never came however.

"I went from place to place learning different forms of battle. During my travels, I learned how to fight with swords, axes, and bows. I even spent time learning a variety of different magic. Eventually I settled on healing spells but I never stopped learning techniques for the others. That is how I escaped the tigers. I combined my mastery of spells to turn myself invisible for a brief time. While it can not be done often or for long amounts of time, it aloud me to save myself."

"I wondered why you aloud me to escape," Stefan commented.

"That's not all I have been hiding from you. Back when I was forced to join the Bengion army I changed my name to hide from those who ridiculed me in my town."

"So what is your real name?" Ylexia asked.

"Zeech," Ylexia gasped at the unusual name while the rest of us were quite surprised, "When I changed my name I tried reversing it and with some modifications to it after seeing a plate of food, I decided that I would be known as Cheese until I returned home."

"You may not be able to return to your old home but you have a new one now," I said and the others agreed.

"Would I be able to stay with you as well?" Ylexia asked.

"Since you saved me back there I guess I owe you one," I said smiling.

"Thanks," she responded, "besides I want to try whooping you for those strikes of lightning."

"Only if you think you can," I responded. I was sure glad that she was not still possessed and trying to kill me.


	18. Chapter 18: Rain of Destruction

**A/N: This update is part of my celebration for being on the site for 5 years! That's right; on April 30 5 years ago I made this account, so today I have decided to update all of my stories that are in progress. This does not mean that more updates will be coming soon if ever though.**

**This was the second story I ever wrote, and as one that looking back, didn't turn out well. The characters were bad, the plot didn't make much sense, and the writing was average at best. Nevertheless, it's stories like this that gave me the practice I needed to improve, something I hope this chapter reflects. I'm still not that happy with the chapter, but it was fun working with the Fire Emblem world. Maybe I'll write another story for the fandom at some point…though I highly doubt I'll write another chapter for this story.**

**Thanks to Wyntirsno for betaing.**

**Chapter 18: Rain of Destruction**

I never saw them come.

Sephiran told us about them, the Goddess of Destruction, how she existed alongside Ashera and Yune back when the world was young and they were one, but while they embraced life and brought the world into existence.

She was lost to legend, not even the dragons of Goldoa remembered her. But as we were gathering around, our leaders and tacticians wondering what we could do against such a threat, the sky shattered above us.

It was a blue day, lit up by the light of dawn.

Though in what seemed like only a few seconds, red took over the horizon, like the sky had been wounded and was bleeding.

Panic struck our forces, the few of us remaining gathering weapons, not needing to know the details to know of the battle that had to come. Some went for weapons, the Laguz among us transforming into their animal forms.

"Micaiah, stay back," Sothe ordered, trying to get her to a safe place. I followed them, my many years serving her guiding my actions. She couldn't die, she wouldn't die. Not as long as I drew breath.

"No," I have to fight among my people." She locked eyes with her husband, the one she hadn't seen in decades, and I know more than anyone that Micaiah was willing to fight for her people, and wasn't one of the queens that would just stand back and let her soldiers face the enemy alone.

"Fine, but stay close to me."

Before they could say anything more, the creatures arose from the ground, unlike anything I had ever seen before. They were pure black, beast like almost, but not even close. They stood on legs that blended into the ground; their bodies were liquidish, black oil dripping from them with each step. Hundreds emerged around us, arrows and magic already flying. The close ranged fighters were hesitant to strike, unsure if weapons such as they carried would do any good.

"The Branded are the only ones that can hurt these things!" Sephiran said as light belted the battlefield, his magic as always empowering to see.

Though even in the light of Sephiran's power, the creatures are still there. Some were reduced to nothing but black slime, but only a few, the others began growing, getting faster. Some of our men had gathered weapons and charged at them, but it was then that I saw how furious these things were. Using what seemed to be a mix of an arm and claw, the creature grabbed onto the soldiers' faces, and slammed them to the ground. They discarded their weapons, and the creature moved on top of them. The soldiers tried moving, but soon they froze, and as the creature moved off them I could tell they had been suffocated.

I gulped, keeping an eye out for any of them near me. I prepared one of my lighting spells, hoping I could strike whatever these things were before they could get to me. But I didn't even know if that would do much good, if it would even hurt them.

One after another, our soldiers seemed to be falling. Our mages were the only ones that seemed to be able to do any damage, but so many of their attacks seemed useless. I tried doing what I could, standing back, using my lightning, but like so many of the other attacks, it does nothing. I contemplated taking my dragon form, fighting back with that, but judging by the red of the skies, things are going to get worse before they get better.

"Agh!" Sothe screamed, and I turn to him, running at him firing lightning at the creature that was suffocating him. If Sephiran is right, the only way to stop these is to embrace the full power of the Branded. We were a cursed people for far too long, locked away, shunned, and told that we were nothing.

But from that darkest night, it was time to rise. To carve out a future the goddesses never intended to show that the unexpected held an impossible truth. One that would exist not only in legends and dreams, but also in reality.

I took on my dragon form, knowing that whatever the cost, we had to survive if that future were to become reality. I saw Soren out of the corner of my eye, his wind magic augmented by his dragon transformation.

I tore the creature off Sothe, Micaiah running to him to heal him. Though apparently my transformation had gathered even more attention, dozens of the creatures began surrounding me. I contemplated taking to the sky to get away from them, that would leave Sothe and Micaiah unprotected. Instead I channeled my lightning power, calling upon lightning to descend around us, creating a shield of lightening that pushed them back.

However, before I could decide my next move, I found myself blown to the ground, reduced back to my human form. I tried getting up but could feel some kind of massive wound in my side. I turned over, saw the blood coming out and felt myself growing light headed.

"Is this all humanity has come up with in the past millennia?" a voice that shook the sky like thunder said. I tried getting up, and saw the figure floating in the sky, translucent black wings holding her up, an arrow held in her hands. She held her hands to the sky, and with what I could only assume was a spell, she called forth flaming meteors from the sky that began raining down on us.

I heard the cries of pain, the fates of many sealed by this inhuman onslaught. Hundreds of thousands fell upon us, destroying so many, and I was only able to sit there, unable to move, unable to fight.

Until, it all went black.

**A/N: Yes it's ending on a cliffhanger...**


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